press releases

O’Melveny Honored Among “Best Law Firms For Women” By Working Mother Magazine

July 31, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK—July 31, 2018—O’Melveny has been named one of the “Best Law Firms for Women” for the sixth consecutive year by Working Mother magazine.

The full list, available here, recognizes 60 US law firms for using best policies and practices to retain and promote women lawyers. This is the 11th year that Working Mother has published this survey and the second year that it has collaborated with the ABA Journal as a knowledge partner.

In qualifying for the award, O’Melveny features a variety of leave, work-life balance, and career-advancement initiatives including:

Generous caregiver leave policies

Access to CustOMMize, a comprehensive program offering several flexibility options for attorneys—male or female—that can be tailored to meet different needs and circumstances

Parenting Employee Networks

Firm-subsidized backup care in all US offices for family members (infants through elders)

Responsiveness to the unique needs of working mothers that has helped more women, the majority of whom have spent their entire careers at O’Melveny, to progress to equity partnership

“Being named one of the Best Law Firms for Women is gratifying,” said Bradley J. Butwin, chair of O’Melveny. “Retaining and advancing women requires access to great work, great attorneys to learn from, great clients, as well as mentorship, sponsorship, flexibility, and a supportive environment that encourages new ideas and raised voices. More important than any one program, we pay attention to the elements that create and sustain the whole O’Melveny experience for our women and all employees.”

“The law firms that make Working Mother’s list are remarkable for their long-term commitment to retaining and promoting women lawyers," said Meredith Bodgas, editor-in-chief of Working Mother. “One hundred percent of these firms provide flexible work arrangements and 57 percent of them offer sponsorship programs for high-potential women lawyers. That's resulted in a jump in the number of women equity partners to 21 percent.”

“The ABA Journal has been exploring diversity issues in the profession for decades and is continually surprised to see how little progress women have made with pay equity and at top positions in law firms,” said Molly McDonough, editor and publisher of the ABA Journal. “Collaborating with Working Mother gives us another way to explore what firms can do to bring gender parity to firm leadership.”

About the Methodology
The 2018 Working Mother Best Law Firms for Women application included more than 300 questions about attorney representation, schedule flexibility, paid time off and parental leaves, and development and retention of women. Profiles are culled from the applications and reflect 2017 data. The ABA Journal acts as a partner in recruiting participant firms and publicizing results.

About Working Mother Media
Working Mother Media (WMM), a division of Bonnier Corporation, publishes Working Mother magazine and its companion website, workingmother.com. The Working Mother Research Institute, the National Association for Female Executives, and Diversity Best Practices are also units within WMM. WMM’s mission is to serve as a champion of culture change and Working Mother magazine is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

About O’Melveny
It’s more than what you do: it’s how you do it. Across sectors and borders, in board rooms and courtrooms, we measure our success by yours. And in our interactions, we commit to making your O’Melveny experience as satisfying as the outcomes we help you achieve. Our greatest accomplishment is ensuring that you never have to choose between premier lawyering and exceptional service. So, tell us. What do you want to achieve? Visit us at omm.com.